There are some new and gradual trends emerging in livestock production and consumption. More corporate consumers are requiring humane sources for their pigs, poultry, and cattle. The grass fed beef industry is growing at a rate of 20 percent a year. Ethanol policy and the drought’s impact on livestock is culling herds and the rancher [...]
1. PURPLE PASSION ASPARAGUS Photo credit: Gardener’s Supply The best gardeners in my area are “passionate” about this asparagus variety and can’t seem to get enough of it into the ground fast enough. It is tasty, sweet, nutty, plump, and extra-tender, lacking strings like regular asparagus. Because it is so tender and sweet, and the [...]
U.S. hog producers broke through the 10-pigs-per litter barrier in the March-May 2011 quarter, according to the latest count. Averaging 10.03 pigs per litter, the U.S. hog production industry is now positioned to possibly eliminate Canadian hog producers’ longstanding litter-rate lead. U.S. litter rates have trended upward for more than two decades due to widespread [...]
